800m rugby fans, survey claims
SYDNEY: There are more rugby fans in China, Brazil, India and the United States than there are people in Australia and New Zealand combined.
One in three of the world’s 800 million rugby followers are Indian, Chinese, American or Brazilian, according to World Rugby’s largest fan survey released yesterday.
There are 33 million fans in the US. National team the Eagles have won two Olympic gold medals and qualified for all but one Rugby World Cup. China has the same number of fans even though its world No 66 ranked national team is yet to play in a major tournament.
India, with a national side far from even contesting a regional rugby title, has 25 million fans, as many as Australia’s entire population.
The top 10 rugby fan nations are now the US, China, India, France, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Italy and Argentina.
Asia, North America, South America and Africa have the fastestgrowing fanbases. Numbers in Brazil, China, India, Mexico and the US have risen by 50% since 2013.
New Zealand, Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales cannot compete with the sheer numbers, but their fans arguably make up for that with passion.
The survey, conducted by Nielson Sports, shows the average age of rugby fans has fallen two years to 36, indicating the code is successfully attracting younger audiences.
Also, more than one in three fans are now women or girls in both traditional rugby nations and the emerging markets.
World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper says the survey shows the broadening global appeal of the sport after the recent addition of a sevens competition at the 2016 Olym pics in Rio de Janeiro.
‘‘World Rugby is committed to ensuring a thriving, growing, inclusive game that is accessible to all and this research, which demonstrates significant fan growth, reflects a sport that is effective in attracting a new, younger audience in nontraditional rugby nations, despite huge competition for eyeballs and attention,’’ he said at the Rugby World Cup 2019 trophy tour in Delhi last week. — AAP